Angel Ascending
by Ardwolf
Summary: Balasi was content with his life as he flew the skies of Aloth with his family onboard their home, the colonial transport Morning Dove. It was a fun life, full of exciting new places to see and people to visit. Alas, he had no idea Fate was about to fling their family into the chaotic Rainbow Ocean and the worlds to be found there. Chap 1-3 rewritten.
1. 1 The New Job

Chapter 1 - The New Job

* * *

Balasi blinked as he muzzily tried to figure out what woke him up. Yawning he stared idly at the wooden beams two feet above him, luxuriating in the feel of not having to move, cuddled into the blankets as the hammock under him lay utterly still.

"Balasi! Eleniel! Get up you two!" his mother called down the ladder. "Breakfast is ready! Remember we are flying right after breakfast so hurry up!"

_Oh, that's what it was, Mama shouting,_ he thought to himself. _For such a short woman she has a **really **loud voice._

Balasi yawned and stretched, trying to eke out another 30 seconds of the blissful warmth. However the smell of hot food quickly coaxed him out of his oh-so-comfortable nest. Sighing in resignation he rolled sideways, making the lip of the hammock touch the floor and gently deposit him on the thick rug beside it.

Still lying on his back he wiggled into his trousers and grabbed his tunic. Bending over to avoid the low ceiling he scrambled out of his quarters deep in the wing and into the lower hold. Straightening up he slid the tunic on just as his sister appeared at the other side of the hold.

"Morning Linny," he said, stretching, "ready for breakfast?"

"My name is _Eleniel, _Balasi," She said with an impatient toss of her head. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Linny?"

"Naw, Eleniel's an _elf's_ name," he teased her. "You're too short to be an elf. Your ears aren't pointed and your skin's way too brown."

"Jerk," his sister retorted. "At least I wasn't named for somebody that stays up all night and stares up at the sky like a sheep in the rain."

"_Ba–aa–aa–aa_," he said grinning, before turning and dashing up the steep wide stairs his mother insisted on calling a ladder. His younger sister growled and raced after him, her shorter legs ensuring she reached the ship's mess well behind her brother.

"Hey there, Bally, slow down!" his father admonished him, laughing. "There's plenty for everybody. No need to try to be first. Go help your mother bring in the rest of breakfast."

"Ok, Pabbi," his replied, reversing course and brushing past his sister, who stuck her tongue out at him.

As he came through the galley door his mother was just putting the last of the food on the plates.

"Balasi, good morning," she said warmly. "Take Eleniel's plate too. I will get your father's."

"Yes, Mama," he replied.

Carefully picking up the two plates he returned to the mess and gave his sister her food. By the time he sat down his mother had settled next to her father and retrieved the jug from the middle of the table.

She murmured a few words and ran her finger down its length. White mist poured off the jug for a moment, then vanished.

"Would you like some apple juice, dear?" She asked, picking up a mug.

"Yes, please," he said eagerly. She handed him the mug and proceeded to pour a mug for the rest of them.

He sipped appreciatively, the icy juice biting at his tongue. Setting the mug down, he devoured his eggs. Naturally, he finished the rest of his breakfast long before everyone else, and then had to sit impatiently waiting for them.

"Eleniel, you will be on the helm today," her mother said as she cut her ham. "I have to redo the preservation spells in the panty. After that your father needs me on deck in case we run into trouble, so you will be on the helm all day."

"Hurray! No lessons today!" the little girl cheered.

"I did not say that," her mother said drily, making Eleniel sag.

"How come Linny gets to fly?" Balasi whined. "I can fly the ship too!"

"We want to get there sometime this _month_, snail," Eleniel snarked. "Unlike _you_ I can fly as fast as Mama can."

"We cannot all be prodigies, Eleniel," her mother said reprovingly. "At least Balasi _can_ man the helm. Not something just anyone is capable of."

"Yeah, but he's so _slow_," Eleniel protested. "Even Pabbi can fly faster than him! _He_ can barely outrun a walking horse!"

"That's enough, Eleniel," her father said calmly. "Balasi might not be a fast flyer but he's a dead shot with a ballista _and_ he can crank and load it a lot faster than you can."

"Only cause he's older and bigger than me," she sniffed.

"I can raise the sails a lot faster too," Balasi noted, "You can barely move the sheet lines by yourself. Oh, and I know how to handle a _cutlass_ too."

His sister snickered.

"Yeah, I've seen you," she snarked. "Pabbi wipes the floor with you when you two spar."

"I'm a lot more experienced fighter than he is, Princess," her father chuckled, ruffling his daughter's hair. "I've been in a lot more fights than Balasi ever will be, gods willing."

"May Fu Xing grant our family that!" his mother said fervently. "Fights are no laughing matter, Eleniel. I've told you both stories about our adventures. I'd rather the two of you never have to face what your father and I have."

"Well, when do _I _get to learn the cutlass?" Eleniel whined. "I can't always run and hide. Something may catch me and then I'll really be in trouble!"

Husband and wife exchanged glances.

"She's got a point, Jia," he said gently.

"I know, but she is so _young_," his wife complained.

"I'm _nine_, Mama!" Eleniel said in exasperation. "I'm _crew_, and it's not like we do milk runs! That dagger Pabbi gave me for my birthday won't do me any good hanging on the bulkhead! And when are you going to start teaching me spells?"

"We do not know if you inherited my talent, Eleniel," her mother said with a sigh. "Other than your flying skill you have not shown any signs of sorcery yet."

"I know, but you haven't tried teaching me either!" her daughter complained.

"Sorcery is not _taught_, Eleniel," her mother said patiently. "You know this. It comes from within. If you have any it will manifest in time. It cannot be rushed. It will come when it comes. On that day I can begin to advise you about your magic. But until then there is nothing to be done."

"What about when you chilled the juice?" Eleniel demanded. "That's a cantrip, right? Just about anybody can learn cantrips! Utaz told me that in Draycott!"

"Utaz is a _wizard_, my angel, not a sorcerer." Jia said dismissively. "Wizardry takes years to master. I am not a wizard. I cannot teach you cantrips any more than I can teach you spells. It's all sorcery."

"What about your spell book then?" Eleniel persisted. "Sorcerers don't use spell books do they? Doesn't that mean you're a wizard?"

"It is a _ritual_ book, Eleniel, not a spell book. While those rituals _are_ wizardry they aren't _spells_, they're _rituals_. Cast a completely different way than a wizard's spells, and still powered by sorcery, not arcane magic. So even if you performed a ritual perfectly, nothing would happen without your own sorcery to power it."

"If I didn't have some kind of magic, I couldn't fly the _Morning Dove_, right?" Eleniel asked slyly. "I certainly couldn't fly it as fast as you do. So if I can do _that_, which is supposed to be impossible, isn't that my inner sorcery showing up?"

Jia paused, considering. "If it was sorcery you would not be able to fly any faster than Balasi," she finally said. "I have no idea why you can fly so fast, especially at your age. Perhaps it is a blessing from Fu Xing."

"Wish he'd have given me spells too," Eleniel grumbled as her brother smirked.

"It is not for mortals to complain about the gifts the gods choose to grant us, my daughter," Jia said sternly. "You have a rare gift, do not be ungrateful."

"Yes, Mama," Eleniel winced at the reprimand.

"Hey Princess, tell you what," her father said. "Tonight, once we make sure the ship's safe, why don't I show you some of the basics of using your dagger?"

"You mean it?" she asked, brightening.

"Kolur, are you sure about this?" Jia asked, concerned. "What if she cuts herself?"

"Well, little Miss _Divine Soul_," he said with a grin, "you can cure wounds, right? Besides, we won't be using live steel. Give me some credit. I'll start her off with a wooden training dagger."

"Oh? And where did you get one of those?" his wife asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Two, actually," he answered with a grin. "I bought them along with her birthday present, of course."

"Of course," she said drily. "I thought I smelled a rat. You have been planning this all along, my husband."

"Yes I have," he said nodding. "We're an _exploration_ ship, honey, not just a colonial transport. Eleniel is right. She needs to know how to use a dagger at least. Just in case. You know I'm right."

"I know," she admitted reluctantly. "It is just I didn't think it would happen so soon. She is still a little girl, Kolur!"

"She is," he nodded. "But she's also part of our crew. And like she said, we don't do milk runs. There's always some risk, no matter how careful we are."

"_She _is also sitting _right here_," Eleniel growled. "_Morning Dove_ is my home, Mama. I go where she goes. You don't complain about Pabbi training Balasi with a cutlass. Why am I any different?"

"He is twelve," her mother retorted. "You are nine."

"I've worked on deck for over a year," she pointed out, "I've been flying the _Dove_ for nearly six months. If you can trust me on deck, and to fly, why not trust me to fight?"

"Because it is far too _dangerous_, my angel," her mother retorted. "Being crew and flying is not the same thing as facing down a pirate with only a knife!"

"You've done it," Eleniel said, then paled as her mother stiffened. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Mama!"

"That was a long time ago," her mother said quietly, forcing herself to relax. "You're right. I _did_ have to fight a pirate with just a knife. They caught me while I was on the helm, so I didn't have any spells, just my dagger. But remember, I was twice your age, we had a large crew, and I _still_ ended up facing a neogi and a pair of umber hulks. I _lost_, Eleniel! I nearly _died_ in that slaver ship, suffering in that hell for _months_."

Her family watched as she shuddered.

"I do _not_ want that to happen to you," she continued, "_ever_. I would die before I let that happen to you."

"We know," Kolur said, taking his wife's hand. "But better she know how to fight and not have to, than the other way round, right?"

Biting her lip, Jia finally nodded. Eleniel slipped out of her seat and hugged her mother tightly.

"I'm so sorry I reminded you of that, Mama," the girl said on the edge of tears, "I'm sorry!"

Jia hugged her daughter tightly enough to make the girl squeak, and kissed the top of her head.

"Not your fault, my sweet angel," she murmured. "It was a long time ago. I need to let it go. Now, we've wasted enough time. We need to get ready to fly. Balasi, help me wash up and secure the galley. Eleniel, go warm up the helm while the rest of us see to the rigging."

Back in the galley Balasi couldn't help noticing how forcefully his mother attacked the dishes by hand instead of using a cantrip like she usually did, or how she tightened down the hatch fastenings on the stove like they owed her money.

Wisely, he kept quiet as he went up on deck to help his father ready for departure while her mother went up to the helm to give Eleniel their course.


	2. 2 Flying

Chapter 2 - Flying

* * *

Eleniel settled herself on _Morning Dove's_ helm, smiling in anticipation. She'd only been flying since her birthday, but the thrill hadn't faded with repetition yet. She doubted it ever would.

The fact her mother had _finally_ decided she was old enough to try the helm was the best birthday present Eleniel had ever gotten. The wonder of feeling herself _become_ their home was intoxicating!

The feel of the helm's smooth wood under her fingers focused her on the here and now. She wriggled in the large heavy chair, nestling her arms and legs in the hollow troughs meant for them. Slowly she felt the helm mold itself to her, becoming the most comfortable chair she'd ever sat in, the hard wooden back turning soft and cradling her head and shoulders.

The heat of the chair rose around her like a warm bath, making the necklace circling her throat turn hot. It sucked in the heat all around her then spit it back into the helm, only to suck it in again, getting stronger with each cycle. As the power grew a sense of contentment filled her. This was how things were _meant_ to be. While the power flowed all was right with the world.

There was a snap and the helm began to thrum softly. Heat poured from the bottom of it to fill the middle deck. From there it spilled down the ladder into the lower hold like a waterfall.

As the heat spread so did her awareness. In less than a minute the heat flooded the ship's wings and then rose upward to the top deck, and finally into the ship's main and mizzen masts.

A wave of dizziness swept through her and she found herself lying flat with arms outstretched, staring down at the mooring dock. She blinked in the bright morning sun as the wind-driven wavelets brushed lightly against her pontoons.

Her father and brother raised the lateen booms. She shivered with delight feeling her sails unfurl like cloth sliding over skin.

The helm came up fully at last, and she felt the wind off the lake cease as her air envelope formed. A peculiar rigid stiffness in her wooden body her told her she was ready to fly.

She watched as her father untied the two lines that anchored her to the U shaped cutout in the dock, amazed as always how he managed to effortlessly coil and toss the lines to land on the top deck. She had never seen him miss, unlike her brother who had a habit of letting the ropes fall back into the water whenever he tried.

She blithely ignored the fact she couldn't do it either, having to climb the ladder with the ropes coiled over her shoulders. At least _she _never got the lines wet!

Her mother's voice distracted her, seemingly echoing from _inside_ her head. She still hadn't got used to that.

"Eleniel, is the helm up?"

"Yes, Mama," the girl replied as she felt her father's footsteps on her shoulders. It felt like she was speaking aloud, but the sound echoed inside her. She tried to ignore the weirdness.

"Back away from the mooring please. At least one ship's length before you lift, all right?"

"I have done this before," her daughter replied, wanting to roll her eyes but currently not having the right anatomy. "You always tell me the same thing. It's not like I'm going to forget."

She changed her point of view from her face to the bottom of her feet (and wasn't _that_ a weird sensation), seeing nothing but empty lake for half a mile behind her.

"All clear astern," she informed her mother, languidly waving what felt like her hands in the warmth surrounding her, even though she knew her real arms were glued to the troughs in the helm's chair arms.

She felt herself drifting slowly backward, keeping an eye out for other craft moving into her right-of-way.

This early in the morning there weren't any. The only jammer moored at the docks was Adderfield's lone hammership, the _Land Guard_, which was clearly not going anywhere. There was only one sailor posted on watch who waved lazily as she moved steadily away from the mooring.

_It's not like the lake dock sees many jammers anyway_, she thought to herself. _Adderfield's way too small for most of the big waterborne jammers to bother with. So it's just us and the **Land Guard** most of the time. _

Like most cities and towns on Aloth, she knew, the biggest and busiest jammer port was always land-based, traffic being nothing but ordinary angelships running cargo and passengers between settlements.

Judging she was far enough from the mooring she let herself drift to a stop and scanned the skies around her for any other jammers. The only one she saw was an angelship from the land port, already in flight and moving safely away from her.

Its helm blazed like the sun in her mind while the _Land Guard _was the pale ember glow of a banked fire. The muted glow of a dozen other quiescent helms from the land-port reminded her of a field of stars on a hazy night.

"Skies are clear, Mama. One angelship moving away from the starboard beam with no other traffic in the air."

"Very good," her mother replied in a crisp, almost military tone. She reached over and pulled a cord leading up through the ceiling. Eleniel heard the deck bell ring twice. She glanced at her father as he scanned the heavens around the ship quickly but thoroughly. Satisfied he yanked a cord beside his position twice.

"Deck reports all clear, you have permission to lift. Two hundred feet, please, helmsman."

"Aye, aye, Mama," Eleniel couldn't help the giggle that escaped.

"Sorry," her mother chuckled. "Old habits die hard."

"Just as long as you remember this isn't the Shou Long navy," Eleniel replied. "I don't think they let nine year olds fly their dragonships."

"They do not," her mother agreed. "If I had not been a descendent of Fu Xing and marked with his favor they would have never let me aboard either, even at 18. Idiot men, thinking a woman could not possibly fly their precious jammers."

Eleniel grinned at the grumble in her mother's voice, and then imagined herself to be a swimmer under water bobbing to the surface.

As gracefully as a thistle on the wind her hundred and thirty foot length responded, water spilling off her pontoons. It didn't feel like she was moving at all, rather it felt like the world moved around her while she stayed still.

She'd asked her mother about it once, her mother explaining a ship under power was its own little world, largely cut off from the rest of existence. Then hastily added that _largely_ did not mean _entirely_. Solid objects could pass into the air envelope unhindered, smoke could seep in, and light passed freely, although sound could not.

Eleniel halted herself two hundred feet above the lake and looked around again before her mother could nag her.

"Two hundred feet, no traffic inbound," she recited the words that had been drilled into her.

Her mother rang the bell twice, and got an instant reply of two rings.

"You are clear to lift to a thousand feet. Set course, by compass, yellow 26 degrees." Again, her mother's manner shifted into the near military.

"Aye, aye, lifting to one thousand feet, course yellow 26 degrees," Eleniel said, again imagining bobbing to the surface. She tried to twist her wooden body but instead of bending, she felt herself spinning in a lazy circle.

She shifted her point of view to her flesh and blood body, watching the compass mounted in front of the helm spin inside its glass dome. When the bottom edge of the compass's spinning dial turned yellow, and the needle pointed to 26 degrees she stopped her turn.

"Course set, reaching altitude now, what speed?"

"As fast as you can go," her mother said with a smile. "We are in a bit of a hurry, my angel."

Eleniel's laughter pealed like a ship's bell as she threw herself forward, willing her wooden body to lunge through the endless blue sky. The feel of the warm bath surrounding her changed from a quiet babbling brook to a tumultuous thundering river. She could feel the ship spirit's delight as she tore through the heavens on a raging torrent of magic.


	3. 3 En Route

Chapter 3 - En Route

* * *

Her mother left the helm and made her way along the short companionway and up to the top deck, joining her husband and son. On deck the air was calm and unmoving, the ship's sails billowing not with wind but pure magical force.

"Linny sounds like she's having fun," Kolur greeted his wife.

"She loves the rush of running flat out," Jia replied. "I must admit she comes by it honestly."

"So, how fast do you think we're going?" he inquired, leaning casually on the rail as he studied the ground far below, peering over the leading edge of the curving wing.

"That is what I came up to check," Jia replied as she opened a locker and pulled out a slate, a piece of chalk, and an astrolabe, laying them on top of the locker's flat surface. She picked up the astrolabe and peered through it, quickly setting the angle arm before counting silently to herself as the landmark she was aiming at moved from in front of the ship to disappear under its wing.

Taking the chalk she jotted down the angle shown on the astrolabe then rapidly did a few calculations.

"She must be excited," Jia commented. "We are clocking just over a hundred miles an hour if my calculations are correct."

"And we know they always are," Kolur said with a chuckle. "So, what do you think? A little over 8 hours to reach our starting point if she can hold this speed?"

"You know perfectly well whatever speed a helmsman can hold does not make any difference to their endurance. I will keep an eye on her but she has run six hours without a problem often enough. As long as she stays under twelve hours she'll be fine. One of us can always relieve her if she starts getting tired."

"Or needs to pee," he grinned. His wife rolled her eyes.

"Yes, dear, or needs to pee." She shook her head. "I'm going to refresh the pantry. Let me know if you need me.

"I always need you," Kolur said, growing serious and giving her a quick kiss.

"Flatterer," she accused with a smile, heading for the ladder.

ooOoo

Balasi leaned against the railing and watched the ground rush past below. As much as he grumbled about his sister's miraculous gift of speed, he none the less enjoyed being able to outrun anything else in the sky. With his mother or sister on the helm there was very little on Aloth that could catch the _Morning Dove_.

In fact, his parents had told them more than once the only reason they dared live on the _Dove _was her swiftness. Balasi often chaffed on exploration missions because he was usually confined to the ship while one of his parents scouted a new location while the other stood guard. The only thing that made it bearable was the fact he manned one of the _Dove's _three ballistae while Eleniel stayed on the helm, ready to pull them out if something attacked. He often pitied his sister during those vigils.

But right now the sails had been set, his father was tracking landmarks to confirm their course and there was nothing for him to do except watch the scenery passing below and keep an eye out for other jammers crossing their course.

That was always a possibility while the _Morning Dove_ was still in settled areas of Aloth, but he knew in less than three hours they'd leave civilization and fly into the wilderness. Then it wouldn't be jammers he was looking for but large unfriendly flying creatures. That's when he and his father would have to stay near the forward ballistae.

ooOoo

Jia hummed to herself as she entered the pantry. On the shelves around her sat their food supplies, enough to last the four of them for a month, under a preservation spell that was about to expire. She carefully began to pile the perishable supplies—meats, fruits, and fresh vegetables—in a single pile, each one touching its neighbor.

Once she'd constructed the pile she closed her eyes, picked up a pinch of salt and started the long intricate chant. The hand holding the salt rested on top of the pile while the other drew complicated runes that remained floating in midair while she continued to recite.

Opening her eyes her voice rang out in a tone of command, her free hand slashing horizontally across the food. The runes flared and shattered with a crystalline chime that echoed oddly in the spacious room. As she pulled her stationary hand away from the food the glowing dust that had been runes fell onto the pile like rain. The pile glowed with a golden light for a brief moment, and then faded.

Satisfied Jia began returning the pile to its various shelves and bins. Once finished she returned to the bridge, glancing over at her daughter on the helm. Seeing nothing amiss she went to the map table and pulled a large book toward her, opening it to the page marked by a ribbon.

She slid a large silver mirror laying on its back closer to her and glanced up to make sure the mirror was centered under the domed ceiling and started chanting a series of nonsense syllables she read directly from the book, moving her arms in hypnotic graceful gestures, her hands moving from one odd shape to another. Eleniel let her focus move back to her flesh and blood eyes, studying each movement and listening to the flow of liquid sounds falling from her mother's lips.

But even as she watched her mother she kept part of her attention on her jamming, needing only a fraction of her attention to stay in the air.

Over ten minutes later the mirror flared and bright specks of light appeared on the ceiling above the mirror. Jia stopped chanting and relaxed, stretching and yawning.

"Alright, Eleniel are you ready to study your star charts?"

"Yes, mama," her daughter replied, splitting her attention between flying and the patterns of light on the dome above her.

"Very well, let's begin," Jia said, nodding.

ooOoo

Two hours later Eleniel felt nature calling, so began to look for a place to set down. Finding a large open grassy clearing she carefully lowered herself the last foot, feeling the pontoons' flat bottoms press firmly against the ground, supporting her weight.

"Helm is down," the girl said, shivering in the sudden lack of warm as she come back to herself, ghost sensations of wings slowly fading like a pleasant dream. "I'll be right back, Mama."

"Very well, remember you'll have to eat on the fly," Jia reminded her daughter. "We can't afford to stop too many times."

The girl grimaced. "I hate that," she complained. "Getting fed like a baby."

"No help for it, dear," Jia said unsympathetically. "You know you can't lift your arms off the helm, it keeps you pinned while the helm is up."

"I _know_, Mama, she said, staggering a bit as she belatedly found her footing in her now flesh body. "Doesn't mean I like it though."

She left the bridge, headed to the lower hold and the rear of the ship where both ship's heads were located. While waiting for her daughter to return Jia reviewed the mission details again.

When Eleniel returned and brought the helm back up the _Morning Dove_ began racing toward their destination once more.

ooOoo

As lunch time approached Jia left the bridge and returned to the pantry where she grabbed a large cooked roast along with a big loaf of brown bread, a tub of butter and a quartet of apples. With the ease of long practice she cut the roast and bread, spreading butter over the bread. She finished by cutting the apples into slices and put some on each plate.

Before taking the food to the others she carefully returned everything to the pantry and made sure to clean the galley table. Her years in the Shou Lung navy and more years aboard the _Morning Dove_ had burned the importance of a spotless galley into her very soul.

She ate her own lunch with quick efficiency, washing her plate before carrying two plates up to the top deck.

"Oh, good, I'm _starved_," her son exclaimed happily. He grabbed the offered plate and started wolfing down his food. His mother just shook her head and sighed, offering the other plate to her husband. She took watch while the other two ate.

"We're in the wild now," her husband said, biting into his apple. "I haven't seen anything larger than an eagle all day."

"Yeah, it's been _boring_," Balasi interjected, "nothing but treetops to look at for the last hour."

"Boring is _good_, Balasi," Jia said complacently. "Excitement is dangerous. Who knows what kind of creatures Aloth's wilderness will come up with next? The further we fly into the wild the weirder the monsters we are likely to run into. This is not Toril. There you pretty much knew what to expect. Saruspace is so far off the major flow rivers it's never been well explored. On top of that it's just a really _weird_ system. With Aloth and its moons being the only habitable planets outside the larger asteroids in the Belt it's no wonder the wildlife here is just _bizarre_."

Kolur laughed. "Never been outside the sphere myself, but your mom's right, Balasi. I remember running into a cougarala once." He shuddered. "It was a big cat, about the size of a horse. Damn thing could leap close to a hundred feet from a standing start. _Fast_, too, and completely silent until it pounced. Then it screamed just like a woman. It nearly got old Hugo Olafson when we were serving on the _Sovereign_."

"What happened?" Balasi asked, interested.

"Well, Captain Gellisson saw the thing leap out of the trees. He had his crossbow ready because he always was a paranoid old sod. Got in a lucky shot and put a heavy quarrel right up its _nose_, killing it instantly. The thing thudded to the ground about a foot in front of old Hugo—who from that day forward was forever known as _Hugo Brown Pants!"_

Jia barked a laugh in spite of herself while Kolur roared with laughter. Balasi frowned in confusion.

"I don't get it," he said. Jia just glared at her husband in mock outrage.

"Never mind, Balasi, it is just your father being crude again."

"_You_ laughed," Kolur pointed out.

"Alas, you have infected me," Jia said mournfully. "I have been with you so long I now understand your humor." She shuddered theatrically. "I have to go feed Eleniel. Are you two finished?"

"Yes, dear," Kolur handed her his plate along with her son's. Returning to the galley she washed their plates then took Eleniel's back to the bridge.

"Ready to eat?" she asked her daughter, setting the plate on the map table. She starting cutting up the meat and bread into small pieces.

"I guess," the girl said with a sigh. She accepted a bite of the roast her mother held out on the fork. "When are they going to invent a helm where you can use your arms?"

"I doubt that is possible," Jia said in commiseration. "The helmsman has to be in complete contact with it or the magic flow is disrupted, shutting down the helm."

"Yeah," the girl said mournfully, accepting another bite of meat. "You'd think the Arcane would have solved that little problem by now."

"Just be glad they came up with the petty helm at all," Jia advised her daughter. "We can't afford a minor helm and frankly it would have been wasted on the _Morning Dove_ anyway. All our business is on Aloth, not in wildspace. Not to mention a petty helm is a _lot_ faster tactically than a normal helm, major or minor."

"Yeah, but a petty helm can't leave Aloth. With a minor helm we could have gone on the Legomir run," her daughter said, eyes shining as she imagined leaving Aloth's atmosphere and travelling to Aloth's closest moon.

"We looked into it," Jia admitted. "But a minor helm costs five times what the _Morning Dove_ itself did, and even if we could have afforded it Zleangow, Cruling, and Ordsa have a trading monopoly with Legomir. Those greedy city-states only use government-owned jammers for trade with the dwarves. They _barely_ tolerate independent cargo jammers even when trading with other cities on Aloth."

"Well, what about Narzog?" the girl persisted. "Or do the city-states have Narzog locked up too?"

"No, Narzog depends on independent jammers," Jia admitted. "But there's still the cost of a minor helm. A hundred thousand gold pieces is _way_ beyond anything we can afford. Besides, Narzog's orbit is far enough from the surface pirates are a real danger. There's no way I would risk you and Balasi like that."

"Yeah, but with a minor helm we could go _anywhere_," Eleniel said excitedly, "even into the Rainbow Ocean itself! Maybe go visit Toril and see your family!"

"A nice dream," Jia said with a sigh, feeding her daughter the last piece of meat. "But I am afraid we are stuck here on Aloth unless we stumble across a crashed jammer with a minor helm that somebody didn't already salvage. That will never happen."

"You never know, Mama," Eleniel said with a grin as she accepted a piece of bread and butter. "Stranger things have happened," she said with her mouth full, "like finding my necklace."

Jia shuddered. "Do not talk with your mouth full and do not _dare_ remind me about that day, young lady! I aged ten years when I found out you were missing! I thought we had lost you forever."

"But at least we got my necklace out of it. It's _magical_, Mama!"

"It is," Jia said seriously. "In fact, it is so magical it must be a Precursor artifact. That's why you can never tell _anyone _about it."

"I _know_, Mama. That's why I always wear clothes with a high collar. I don't want somebody cutting my head off to get it!"

"And they _would_, my angel," Jia said sternly. "Finding that thing was the worst luck to ever befall us. You cannot take it off, it radiates magic like a star and it does not seem to _do_ anything as far as I can tell. Not to mention people would kill you to take it. I wish you had never found it, it has _nothing_ but downsides."

"Well, nothing can cut it," Eleniel pointed out. "That's something. And it grows with me."

"If it didn't it would have strangled you by now," Jia said grimly. She fed her daughter more bread.

"What about looking for the silver lining, Mama?" Eleniel said with exasperation. "You never see the bright side of things."

"I do when there _is_ a bright side," Jia demurred a bit defensively. "But that necklace doesn't have a bright side. It's cursed. If you weren't a descendant of Fu Xing we'd have probably already fallen to some ghastly doom or other."

"Well," her daughter said thoughtfully, accepting an apple slice and chewing, swallowing rapidly so she could keep talking, "at least it hasn't affected my jamming. It hasn't blinded me to other jammers, or kept me from feeling the ship's spirit. So it can't be too cursed."

Jia paused, puzzled.

"What do you mean blinding you to _other _jammers?" she asked, tilting her head.

"You know, seeing other helms," her daughter said, trying to shrug but unable to in the iron grip of the helm.

"What?" Jia asked, bewildered. "Nobody can see other helms."

"Huh?" her daughter's face scrunched up in confusion. "How _couldn't _you? A running helm glows like the sun! Even a helm that's down glows faintly. I mean, you can't see it from more than a few miles away, but it's not something you could miss."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Eleniel," her mother said with widened eyes.

"You can't see other helms?" her daughter asked in surprise. Her mother shook her head, staring at her daughter. "Not even when you're on the helm?"

"No," her mother said softly.

"But you _can_ feel the ship's spirit, right? Like a friendly puppy that's eager to play?"

"No, Eleniel, I cannot. I have never heard of anyone who could. Helmsmen are always gossiping and trading tall tales. If others could see helms in flight I would know."

"But…"

Her mother held up her hand, clearly deep in thought. Eleniel kept quiet, although she wanted to ask more questions.

"Can you feel any other helms around us?" Jia asked suddenly.

"No, Mama. The last jammer I saw was just after I came back from the head, and it was headed port aft, deeper into the settlements."

"Can you sense other helms when the helm is down?"

"If a helm is up," Eleniel agreed. "But it's a lot easier if I'm on the helm. Off the helm even if a helm is up I can only see it from a few hundred feet. If it's down I have to be close, almost in its air envelope. Well, where the air envelope would be if the helm was up."

"And you can sense _Morning Dove's _spirit?" she asked, looking deeply in her daughter's eyes.

"If I'm on the helm," Eleniel agreed. "Right now _Dove _is so happy, Mama! She loves to scamper and play, running hard like this makes her giddy."

"I see," Jia said sitting back. Absently she fed the last apple slice to her daughter, and then picked up the plate and knife.

"Eleniel, for now don't mention this to Balasi. I want to talk to your father first."

"So, more secrets?" Eleniel asked her voice plaintive. "You think it's _because_ of the necklace?"

Jia hesitated, and then nodded slowly. "It very well might be. That could also explain your speed. And the fact you have not shown any signs of sorcery. Maybe the necklace is feeding off your magic. It's not unheard of. After all, helms are the _epitome_ of devices that feed off one's magic."

"So—my necklace isn't cursed after all?" Eleniel said, brightening up.

"Perhaps," Jia admitted reluctantly. "It would answer some things about you. But if true it's even _more_ important you keep this quiet, all right?"

"Yes, Mama," Eleniel said, sighing.

Jia was thoughtful as she mechanically washed up Eleniel's dish and utensils and took the garbage down to the head, dumping it into the bowl and opening the valve, watching the apple cores and crumbs disappear down the frictionless tube and out of the ship to fall into the wilderness below.

_At least Aloth's ship building skills exceed Shou Long's_, she thought absently, shuddering as she remembered what passed for a head on a dragonship—basically just a hole with a seat in the bow.

On her way to the top deck she bit her lip and made a sudden detour to their quarters in front of the bridge. Kneeling before the small shrine in the corner she used a quick cantrip to light a short stick of incense, placing it upright in the copper bowl designed to catch the ashes as the incense burned.

Then she kowtowed in front of the shrine and began to pray silently.

_Honored ancestor Fu Xing, this humble one asks for forgiveness. In ignorance this one denied your grace on her family in granting her daughter the good fortune to find her necklace. This one's sin was thinking it a curse rather than your benevolence, honored one. This one begs you not to punish our family for this one's misjudgment and lack of faith. This one offers her sorrow and penance most honored ancestor of our family. Please look upon this unworthy one and allow her the opportunity to make up for her trespass._

Her prayer done, she remained in kowtow until the incense finished burning, then rose and took the bowl down to the galley. Carefully pouring water into the ashes she cast a quick cantrip. The ashes and water spun until there was only a dark grey liquid.

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and opened her mouth. A second cantrip made the cup raise itself and tip the nasty concoction into her mouth.

She swallowed twice to rid herself of it, the bitterness remaining on her tongue. The bowel lowered itself to the table and she cast yet another cantrip, watching as the black film vanished, leaving the inside of the bowl gleaming, bright and untarnished.

She closed her eyes again and waited for whatever sign she might be granted, forcing herself not to gag at the foul taste coating her tongue.

After what felt like an eternity the harsh bitterness faded, becoming the sweetest honey she had ever tasted. A smile lit up her face as she swallowed Fu Xing's absolution.

"Thank you, honored ancestor," she whispered, "Rest assured this one will be more attentive to the fortune you rain down upon our family."

She returned the bowl to the little shrine and ascended the ladder to the top deck.


	4. 4 Why Boring Is Good

Chapter 4 - Why Boring Is Good

* * *

Moving over to her husband Jia glanced at her son, who was dutifully watching the sky ahead and the forest below, paying no attention to her.

"We need to talk," she said quietly, taking his arm and pulling him back to the stairs below deck, some forty feet away from Balasi.

"What's the matter?" Kolur asked seriously, keeping his voice low.

"While I was feeding Eleniel she mentioned her necklace."

"Your favorite subject," her husband chuckled, relaxing. "What about it?"

"You know how I could never learn what it did?" she asked.

"No, really?" he teased her.

"This is _serious_, my husband," she snapped. "Eleniel may have stumbled across its secret without realizing she had done so."

"You lost me. How could she _not_ know?" Kolur asked, perplexed.

"She's only been jamming for a few months. She told me she can see other helms flying, that she can feel the spirit of the ship. She was surprized when I told her that others could not."

"You think that's what her necklace does?" Kolur frowned in thought. "Sounds pretty useful to me. So what's the problem?"

"We do not know what _else_ her necklace can do, Kolur! She can fly far faster than she should. She can see things she should not, commune with a spirit she _thinks_ is the ship. What if it is not the ship she feels? What cost will the necklace demand for these gifts?"

"Magical items don't harm their users, Jia. You know that," Kolur said in a calming voice. "Except maybe cursed ones. You still think it's cursed?"

The woman paused, then took a deep breath.

"No. I prayed to Fu Xing and asked for a sign. He granted it to me, and I learned her necklace is not cursed. But some magical items drain their users for power, and are not cursed either. Even our helm does that. Use it for more than half the day and it will begin to feed on your life force.

"The _neogi_", she snarled the word, "power their ships with a death helm. As horrid as that abomination is I cannot truly say it is cursed. Victims can be released from it and recover if not left in for too long. Truly cursed objects cling to their victims like barnacles to a hull."

"Just like her necklace," he replied carefully.

She nodded. "Yes. But Fu Xing has spoken, her necklace is not cursed. But that does not mean it is _safe_. Especially for one so young."

"Well then, what do we do?" Kolur asked, looking worried.

"We wait, and watch," Jia sighed. "Eleniel has always been a happy and energetic child. If that should change, or if she should sicken, we may be forced to ask a wizard for aid."

"That's a _bad_ idea. Her necklace is probably a Precursor artifact. Consult a wizard and chances are the Arcane will find out sooner or later—and then she's done for."

"I know," Jia said miserably. "But it may not come to that. Perhaps her necklace poses no danger to her. We can only hope."

"Maybe ask a priest instead of a wizard?" Kolur suggested doubtfully, "someone in the Belt, maybe a cleric of Ptah or Celestian?"

Jia grimaced, "Could we afford to travel all the way to the Belt? Perhaps a Celestian would keep the secret, but I would no sooner trust a priest of Ptah than I would a priest of the Path and the Way."

"Money's not an issue. To save our daughter's life I'd sell _Morning Dove_ in a heartbeat_._ You could always hire on as a navigator for a ship headed Belt-ward and I can work any crew position. _Getting_ to the Belt isn't the problem. Finding someone we could trust on the other hand…"

"It is too soon to make such plans," Jia said, clamping down on the worm of worry gnawing at her belly. "There is a more pressing question. Should we tell Balasi about Eleniel's newly discovered abilities? I say we should not."

"You know better," Kolur said disapprovingly. "We should tell him now and make sure he understands how dangerous it would be to let others know, rather than let him discover it by accident and maybe spill the beans. That's just begging for trouble."

"Perhaps you are right," she said reluctantly. "Will you do it? He may not take me seriously."

"You're his mother," Kolur protested.

"I am," she nodded. "I am also very aware my children think me far too suspicious and that I jump at shadows—as do _you_."

"Hey, not about her _necklace_," he protested, stung. "I'm behind you all the way when it comes to that. I've _dealt_ with the Arcane, remember?"

"Pabbi! Mama! Incoming!" Balasi's excited shout interrupted his parents. "Dunno what it is but it's gigantic!"

The two adults raced to the front of the deck, Kolur instinctively moving behind the port ballista even as he spotted what his son had.

"Damn, that's one big _fjandinn_," Kolur whistled. "What the hell is it?"

"Something new," Jia said dryly, "Eleniel, evasive action now!"

The _Morning Dove_ slowly swerved away from the oncoming creature, banking sharply and briefly hiding the beast under a wing, only to level off once the turn was completed to reveal the gigantic monstrosity, resembling nothing so much as a translucent jellyfish. It rapidly fell away to their port aft.

Kolur watched it carefully while Balasi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Never saw one of those before," he commented, eyeing the thing, which dwarfed the _Morning Dove_. "Must be what, three times as wide as the _Dove _is long? Gods know how long its tentacles are. Bet that thing could eat a _dragon_."

"Can it move against the wind?" Jia asked warily.

"Maybe," Kolur said doubtfully. "If it's like sea jellies it probably drifts most of the time, letting the wind take it. I doubt it could move very fast if it did try to move on its own. We shouldn't have to worry as long as we stay away from it."

"Uh, Pabbi? Looks like it brought some friends," Balasi said in a slightly panicky voice.

The two adults swung back around to stare in dismay at a dozen more of the monster jellyfish. The view started tilting again as the ship's nose began to rise. In under a minute the ship was climbing nearly straight up.

"She is trying to get above them," Jia said in realization. "Kolur, spin us. I want to make sure she is not cutting it too close!"

"Balasi! Help me with the jib sheet!" Kolur ordered, racing to one of the running lines. His son joined him, grabbing the sheet. With both of them using their entire strength they managed to shift it directly in line with the mast. The jib fought them but in the end reluctantly moved where they wanted it. Still billowing from the magic of the helm the straining jib was pushed _sideways,_ forcing the ship to heel sharply. As she was moving nearly straight up heeling caused her to rapidly spin on her long axis. As soon as she had spun half way round Kolur walked the sheet forward, letting it play out until the foresail returned to its normal position.

Jia stared straight up from the deck, the ship's steep climb making it seem they were sailing underneath clouds of dusky translucent flesh.

To make matters worse the jellyfish weren't all flying at the same altitude. Instead they formed a staggered wall. The nearest jellyfish was flying at a mid-level, the one beyond it flying highest of all. Jia did rapid calculations in her head as the ship raced toward safety.

"Good girl," she murmured, then raised her voice. "Eleniel, turn twenty degrees to starboard! Let that thing past so we don't have to get above it!"

The ship's nose drifted slightly to the right. Jia narrowed her eyes as she gauged the distance before relaxing. The ship was now halfway along the highest jelly's tentacles and would clearly pass several hundred yards to the side of the monster.

As the ship reached the midpoint of the float Eleniel began to level the ship, leaving them flying upside down, the ground now thousands of feet above their heads. Before Kolur could grab the jib sheet again the _Morning Dove_ began to slowly rotate around her long axis. It took almost a full minute to right the ship again.

"And _that_, Balasi, is why spelljammers have sails," Kolur said, grinning. "As fast as your sister flies straight ahead she took nearly a minute to turn us right side up. You notice the jib only took _seconds_."

"The same is true in wildspace as well," Jia told her son. "Not even a major helm can turn a ship nearly as quickly as her sails can."

"I always wondered why Pabbi insisted on raising the sails," Balasi said. "I thought it was silly we had them."

"You know we normally need the winches to move the sails, right?" Kolur said, rolling his eyes. "The helm's magic pushes straight against the sail's curved side. Even a petty helm gives our jib a lot of shove. Not to mention the main and mizzen sails."

"Whatever," Balasi said impatiently. "At least there's no more of those stupid jellyfish. Man, that was _scary_."

"Were you not the one who wished for excitement?" Jia asked, gazing innocently at her son. Kolur snorted at the sour look Balasi gave his mother.

"Be careful what you wish for," she continued. "The gods are often generous—sometimes _extremely _generous—to our family."

"A little excitement goes a long way, Balasi," Kolur agreed, nodding, "Nothing like a jolt of terror to wake you up in the morning!" He took a deep breath and pounded his chest with a fist.

Balasi sighed heavily

"Listen to your elders Balasi_,_" The boy mimicked in a weary singsong voice.

"Are you calling me old, you young whippersnapper?" Kolur asked in a wheezy crackling tone.

"Behold Balasi," Jia said snidely, "For he is truly a venerable aged sage, ready to join his honored ancestors. Take advantage of the wisdom he so freely offers, for you cannot know how much longer his timeworn lungs can still draw breath."

Kolur stuck his tongue out at his wife then turned serious.

"Balasi, we need to tell you something. It's about your sister," Kolur said in a grim voice.

"What about her?" Balasi asked curiously.

"We found out a little more about her necklace. You know, the necklace bad people might kill her to get?"

"Uh huh," Balasi nodded, turning solemn.

"We think her necklace might be why she can fly so fast. It seems that that's not all it does. It lets her see helms a long way off. Not only that, it lets her talk to the _Morning Dove_ too."

"Huh? Talk to the _Dove?_" Balasi asked, blinking. "How can she talk to a _ship?"_

"It does not speak to her," Jia corrected her son, "rather she says the ship feels like an eager puppy. Going fast makes it feel giddy, apparently."

"Giddy," he said flatly. "You're pulling my leg!"

Jia shook her head. "No. Fu Xing has given me a sign. Eleniel finding her necklace was indeed a great blessing and not the curse I had feared. We always suspected it was made by the Precursors. That alone makes it horribly dangerous to possess. But as recompense the necklace grants her great power."

"Linny? _Powerful?"_ Balasi asked in disbelief. "Little Linny?"

Jia nodded gravely. "I did say the gods were extremely generous to our family. Eleniel has been blessed with great power. But with great power comes great danger. No one must know, Balasi. If others learn of this she could _die_. And us along with her."

"What do you mean?" he asked, frowning. "I get they'd be after her, but why the rest of us?"

"What would you do if someone tried to hurt your sister?" Jia asked patiently. "What do you think they would do to you if you stood between them and her?"

Balasi swallowed. Jia nodded grimly. "Believe me when I say your father and I would fight. And we might even win. The _first _time. But such evil never reveals itself. It lurks in the shadows, sending others to accomplish its goals. Should it lose a few men, what of it? Such men are cheap and plentiful. A second or third time we might _not_ win. We would be hounded; assassins would strike from the shadows. Eventually, we would fail. And against such enemies failure means certain death."

Balasi paled under his tan.

Jia smiled wanly at her son. "My people often curse their enemies by saying _may you live in interesting times_. Now you understand why."

Balasi just nodded silently, a bead of sweat on his forehead.


End file.
